Before You Start School

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I can hardly believe that the tiny, just over 5lb bundle, that lived on my chest for the first 6 weeks (okay 6 months) of her life will be starting school in September. She is so very ready to learn, grow, play and explore the world just that little bit more. Me? I am nowhere near ready and the thought of it is making my eyes prick with tears and my ovaries ache. So, I want to give her one hell of a summer before school starts with as many exciting things to do as possible. I wrote about our Bucket List before Starting School a long time ago and we’re so close to completion. Now, despite the fact she has already been abroad a couple of times in her little life, I do just want to see if we can squeeze in some sort of short, cheap getaway before she starts school. So I thought I would look at Clickstay holidays.

I can remember my first trip abroad. I was about 12 years old and it was me, my mum, my step dad and my sister and it was one of those Villa holidays. We went to Costa De Almeria in Spain. It has stayed in my mind so vividly even after all of these years. The death defying coach trip to our hotel, the beautiful white-washed buildings. The clear blue pools where my sister and I spend most of our time, except for when we were on the beach or visiting Grenada.

It wasn’t an overly expensive holiday or anything amazingly amazing but it was brilliant because it was my first and I can remember having such a wonderful time. I am thinking that Spain  would perhaps be one of the best places to take Alyssa. We have been to Tenerife and Greece with her so far and various places around the UK. I would at some point, love to take her to Italy as having lived there for 3 years I feel a real connection to it but I think that would be best saved for when she is a little older and able to walk further and appreciate some of the culture I’d love to show her.

I’ve been looking at holidays on Clickstay as they seem to have holiday homes, rentals and all sorts in every destination you can think of and for all budgets. I did have a look and they even have villas available in Costa De Almeria which is a huge temptation but there is so much of Spain I haven’t seen. I am not completely up for a big tourist spot – I rarely went to kids clubs as a child myself, apart from in the UK, as my sister and I were very good at being each other’s company and finding stuff to do for ourselves. Plus I want to spend time with Alyssa, not ship her off to a kids club and not see her for the entire day.

To be honest, Alyssa’s only holiday requirements in general are a swimming pool and a disco which makes things pretty easy. In an ideal world all I’d like is a sunbed but I am fully prepared to not get to use one for the next few years as she will only want me to play with her for so long!

Another great feature I found with Clickstay was that they have a Discount of the Month! This usually means money off or a great deal, so definitely worth checking out if you’re looking to book your big summer family break soon!

What are you trying to squeeze in before they start school? Any holiday recommendations?